


Family Ties

by richietozierslefttoe



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Cockblocking, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier-centric, Established Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Foreplay, Gay Bashing, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, M/M, Making Out, Pining, Richie Tozier Is A Dad, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is Bad at Feelings, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Richie Tozier, mentions of parental abuse, over-the-pants handjob
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-23 05:50:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23006731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/richietozierslefttoe/pseuds/richietozierslefttoe
Summary: AU from twitter user @derryfacts2: Where Richie and Eddie break up in their mid twenties bc Richie doesn’t want a family and Eddie does and when they see each other again in their mid thirties Richie has a kid
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 11
Kudos: 70





	1. Richie, You Have A What?

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to make this cute, but also slightly angsty? Will have multiple chapters, idk how many just yet.

“Don’t do this Rich. Don’t do this. Not now.” Eddie was defeated. Richie was really just going to send a decade down the drain over as something as miniscule as Eddie asking him if he wanted kids. “We don’t _have_ to have them, Richie. It was just a question. I was just making conversation,” Eddie pleaded.

“No, you weren’t. I know you, Eddie. I know this “conversation” was a way to pry information from me. It was just a way to try to get what you want. I can’t do this anymore, Eds. I can’t lie and pretend everything is peachy between you and me. I think we…” Richie sighed, “I think we should take some time… Away from each other.”

“Richie, please…” There was a twinge of pain in Eddie’s strained voice. He reached out to place a hand on Richie’s chest. For just a second Richie let his guard down. His statuesque frame faulted ever so slightly, and he softened into Eddie’s touch. “We don’t have end it here, we can work through this like everything else.” Eddie tipped his head up to look Richie in the eyes and Richie placed his hand over Eddie’s on his chest.

“Eds,” Richie reached to place his other hand on Eddie’s cheek, watching as Eddie closed his eyes at the touch, “I love you… so much. But I don’t think that we can move forward. We don’t want the same things and I don’t want to force you out of having a family simply because I don’t want one. You need to find yourself someone who wants a family with you.”

Tears began to flow out of Eddie’s closed eyes. He had never experienced this kind of pain. It was like every muscle around his heart was constricting, pulling every string in his body to make his chest hurt so bad he felt like he was going to die right there. He felt breathless, like there was lump in his throat that he just couldn’t get out, no matter how hard he swallowed. He finally opened his eyes, and through the tears he saw Richie looking down at him. He could see the pain this was causing him. He knew Richie was letting his own happiness go in favor of the potential of Eddie having a life more aligned with what he thought Eddie wanted. But what Eddie wanted was Richie. He could let go the idea of having a family if it meant that he could spend his life with the man he loved most in the world. Richie wouldn’t have it though, he wouldn’t be open to reason. His mind has already made up and there was no point in trying to convince him otherwise now. “Okay,” Eddie mumbled through his tears, “Okay, Rich. We can take time.”

**

“Dad! Dad! Dad wake up!” Richie groggily opened his eyes to see a small frame standing at the side of his bed, illuminated only by the small light coming through the window. “Dad we’re gonna be late for school!” Richie was a little more awake now, rubbing his eyes and picking up his phone to look at the time, 8:30. School started at 9, there was no way they were getting there today. “ _Shit,”_ he mumbled to himself.

“Dad! Shit is a bad word,” the small boy exclaimed. Richie let out a chuckle as he pushed himself to sit upright on the bed, legs hanging over the side towards the boy. “If it’s such a bad word why’d you say it, too?” He smiled and reached his arms out to the boy, who openly accepted and embraced Richie.

“What do you say we skip school today, huh? We’ll have a Daddy-James day. We can go downtown and see a movie, then get ice cream. How’s that sound?” Richie leaned back from the hug to look at his son. It never ceased to amaze him just how much they look alike. Just 6 years old and already a spitting image of Richie at that age. At least there was no doubt he was his kid. He looked James up and down, a smirk forming on his face, “Dress yourself today, dude?” James excitedly smiled and hoped out of Richie’s arms to show him the full outfit. It was a blue Blaze and the Monster Machines shirt coupled with plaid pajama pants Richie had gotten him at Christmas and his flip flops they had gotten for their vacation at the beach that summer. Yep, no doubt he was Richie’s.

“D’you like it? It did it all by myself!” James was ecstatic at his choice, but it was currently October and the stark chill of autumn air had fallen over Manhattan.

“I love it, little man, but it’s pretty cold out and I wouldn’t want you to lose any of your toes.” Richie pointed to James’ feet, “Let’s go change into something a little more weather appropriate, yeah?” James started sulking but ultimately followed the order and lead Richie to his room to change clothes.

After getting both of them ready for the day they set off into downtown Manhattan. Not that Richie lived far anyway, he lived just close enough to where he could get to set easily enough everyday, but far enough that he wouldn’t get followed by some crazy stalker fan in the middle the night after a show. After he and Eddie broke up 9 years ago, he decided, in order to keep his mind on track, he’d start doing more stand-up gigs and eventually it was enough to get him a spot on SNL. He had been on for about 8 years and didn’t really see a reason to leave just yet. It was a stable gig, something he could easily support James on without worry, and he didn’t like change much anyway.

Before heading to the theatre to see an early showing of Hotel Transylvania, Richie stopped into the coffee shop near his apartment for breakfast. Breakfast on the go was much easier than cooking at home with a 6-year-old, especially since Richie couldn’t really cook to begin with. They walked into the crowded shop, Richie holding on tight to James’ hand as he didn’t want to even think about losing him in this overpopulated hellhole and got in the absurdly long line to await service.

As they were waiting, Richie leaned down to give James his phone with a game already pulled up. _I’d rather him rot his brain with a game than scream because he’s bored_ , Richie thought. He had put the phone in James’ hand and stood back up, scanning the coffee shop, when he locked eyes with someone he never thought he’d see again. A red blush grew across his face and suddenly he was very hot. _Shit,_ he thought, _not now. Please not now._

“Trashmouth?” the voice quipped, “Richie!” the person was getting louder as he walked towards the two of them. _Fuck._ Eddie looked just as good as when he left him standing in his living room all those years ago. _Fuckfuckfuckfuck._ Finally acknowledging Eddie’s existence (because he was basically 2 feet away from him at this point), he started to speak.

“Hey there, Eddie Spaghetti, long time no see! How’s it hanging?” Richie was obviously nervous _You aren’t 28 anymore, dumbass stop talking like it._

“First of all, don’t call me that, you know my name. Secondly… holy shit you don’t look like you’ve aged at all since we…” Eddie paused, “Since I last saw you.” Everything seemed to come back to Eddie in that second. All the hurt Richie had caused him. He saw Eddie’s brow furrow ever so slightly, and a frown started to form on his face before he shook his head and smiled back up at Richie, “How are you, dude? What have you been up to? Well, besides SNL, I saw you finally made it on. It’s been like, what, 9 years? Not… that I kept track or anything I just remember it’s been a while.” Eddie was stammering, Richie could tell he was nervous. God was Richie nervous, too. Had Eddie seen his son yet? It was pretty crowded in the shop and he was a pretty small kid. What was going to happen when he did see him? Fuck, this is a disaster. The one day that he decided to keep James from school WOULD be the one day he ran back into the love of his life.

“Uh, yeah, man, I’m doing pretty good. The SNL gig is holding out pretty well and this seas—”

“Dad, the game went off.” James was tugging at Richie’s shirttail, “The screen is black, can you turn the game back on?” He was shoving the phone up to Richie to fix.

“Uh, yeah buddy, no problem,” he took the phone and unlocked it then gave it back to James, “There you go, little man.” He could sense Eddie’s eyes on him. He could sense how upset he was. But when he looked back at him, there was no sign of emotion on his face. Eddie was deadpan.

“You had a kid.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement of fact, more of an admittance to himself, verbal words to make the situation real.

“Uh, Eddie I…” Richie’s face was hot and blushed, “I can explain this, if you let me.” _God… please let me._

“I don’t… I think… I think I’m going to be late for… uh… my thing.” Eddie’s body was tense and as he tried to walk past through the crowd, Richie grabbed his forearm. “Please,” Richie was basically whispering to him now, “Please don’t run away. Please let me talk to you. Let me explain.” Richie was close enough to Eddie’s face that he could feel it tense as he spoke.

“There’s nothing to explain, dude. It wasn’t a family that you didn’t want, it was just me.” Eddie looked to Richie, so close their noses were almost touching. He tried to pull away, but Richie held on.

“Just... Eds, just let me explain this to you. If you just give me your number or something I will explain. I just have to get him breakfast and to this movie that I promised him. Hell, you could come to the movie with us and I could explain it on the way there. Just… just don’t run away, man.”

“You mean like you ran away 9 years ago?” Eddie was visibly frustrated; Richie knew he wouldn’t stick around much longer, and he couldn’t lose him again.

“Yeah, man,” Richie sighed, “just like that.” He paused one more time, “But I don’t want to run away now, I want to tell you what happened.” Richie was looking directly into Eddie’s eyes, pleading with him to stay with him, if only just for a few hours. Eddie closed his eyes and sighed before saying, “Okay. Okay Rich, I’ll let you explain. But I swear to god if you’re married and there’s two more little Richie’s out there, I’m gone, dude.”

Richie cocked a small smile and let go of Eddie’s arm, stepping back out of his space just a hair, “I can promise you this is the only little Richie… I hope. And I’m not married. This, “he put his hand on top of James’ head, “Is James,” he leaned down to take his phone out of the boy’s hand and pointed a finger at Eddie, “Hey, little man, this is daddy’s friend, Eddie. We’ve been friends since we were about your age, isn’t that cool?” Richie smiled at his son, then at Eddie.

“Doesn’t that mean you’re old?” Eddie let out a small laugh and Richie patted James’ shoulder, “Yeah buddy, I guess it does,” he laughed as he stood back up. It was finally time to place their order, so Richie got all three of them breakfast and after eating they made their way to the theatre.

While they walked Richie and Eddie chatted. “He looks just like you, Rich, and with that mouth, there’s no doubt he’s your offspring,” Eddie said. Richie smiled, “Yeah, just this morning he tried to dress himself in a t-shirt, pajama pants, and flipflops to go to school. There’s no doubt he’s mine.” Richie’s smile faded when he turned his head to look at Eddie and saw a frown plastered across his face.

“What happened, Rich? Are you straight now?” Eddie had every right to question him, but it still felt pointed.

“Spaghetti,” he felt the glare Eddie gave him at the use of an old pet name, “It isn’t like that,” he took a deep breath, “About two years after we…broke up…I went to this bar and got really drunk and started to question, like, who I was, you know? I hadn’t ever found another man that made me feel like you did. I thought maybe I wasn’t gay after all and you were just some fluke. So, I found a woman at the bar willing to have sex with me and took her home. She was gone before I woke up the next morning and 9 months later, I had James dropped off at my door. No explanation, no note, nothing. I took him to the doctor and got a paternity test. Low and behold, he was mine. I’ve raised him by myself ever since. I didn’t even know her name. I still don’t know her name, or even remember her face. I was so plastered that night, it was a miracle that I was able to get it up, let alone get off.”

They’re at a crosswalk, waiting for the man to come up indicating that they can walk. Eddie turned to look at Richie, and when he met his eyes Richie noticed a glint of sadness in his eyes, but he couldn’t tell the reason.

“Why didn’t you just drop him off at a hospital? I mean, you weren’t wedlocked, you didn’t even know the woman, it would have been easy enough,” Eddie said.

Richie suddenly got a twinge of anger. Nothing heavy, but enough to make his ears run hotter than normal, “I’m not dropping my kid off at some hospital to get adopted by some religious nutcases that won’t let him get his rocks off until he gets married. He’s my kid man, I’ve got a responsibility to him to make sure he lives his best life.”

“Okay first of all, gross, dude. Second of all, that’s actually really… responsible? of you, Rich.” They got the go ahead to walk across the street and Richie grabbed James’ hand. “What did you say his name was again? It was kind of loud in that shop I didn’t really catch it,” Eddie questioned. He heard; Richie knew he heard. He knew he just wanted to confirm.

“James. Before you ask, the answer is yes.”

Eddie cocked an eyebrow, “But why?”

“Well, he needed a name and all I could think of was to name him after the person who,” another deep breath, “the person who taught me to love. I thought that if I gave him that name that I could… that he could teach me how to love him, the same way you taught me… how to love you.” Richie looked over at Eddie who was already staring at him. He couldn’t make out the expression on his face, but it was soft.

“Richie I—I don’t know what to say to you. I was prepared to be mad. I was prepared for you to tell me you had gotten married and divorced, or you got a surrogate, or some other crazy story as to how you came to obtain this kid, but this is…I was not expecting for you to have given him my middle name. And I was REALLY not expecting that reasoning.” Eddie took a few seconds then continued, “I just can’t believe that Richie ‘Trashmouth’ Tozier has a kid. Especially after he told me that he never wanted a family.” Eddie looked pointedly back at Richie.

Richie saw in his eyes that he was hurt. He never wanted to hurt him, he wanted the exact opposite of hurting him, actually, and he really never wanted a family, but now he’d done both. What the fuck was he supposed to say?

“Eds… I’m so sorry. I don’t know if there’s any other words to explain how much I know I hurt you, but just know that I’m sorry. I was acting in what I thought was your best interest and I never wanted all this and I thought that if I just left that you’d find someone and would have been able to start a family and—” Eddie grabbed Richie’s forearm, halting the three of them. He looked around at the hoard of people angrily pushing to get around where they had blocked the sidewalk.

“Rich, there hasn’t been anyone else,” Eddie looked directly into Richie’s eyes, “I tried, but there was never anyone else that made me feel the way you did. I tried so hard to make other relationships work, but I couldn’t force myself to feel for anyone else what I felt for you.” Eddie looked sincere, and Richie knew that it was hard for him to open up. Years of growing up and living in Derry had forced the two to become reclused in their own brains out of fear of being outed or getting the shit kicked out of them for showing anything but anger. Richie would never forget the one time he had forgotten where they were at just 18-years-old. They had just seen Jurassic Park at the Aladdin Theater. It was a warm June night and they were both happily walking down the street, discussing the movie when Richie leaned down and innocently placed a kiss on Eddie’s cheek. That was the last thing he remembered before he saw Henry Bowers’ fist planted firmly on his face. “Keep that shit out of Derry, you fucking fairies!” He had exclaimed. He and his posse left the two beaten and bloodied in the middle of Derry’s streets that night. He left them for dead. The police left them for dead. They watched Henry’s gang beat the shit out of them and looked the other way when they needed help. They probably would have died there in the streets, choking on their own blood, like some stupid fucking hate crime case if it hadn’t had been for their friend Mike Hanlon who had happened to be riding his bike down the street to get to Bill Denbrough’s house. Everyone in that town, aside from their small group of friends, would have left them to die in the streets like stray dogs. It forced the two to fear their own emotions, enough so that communication was basically nonexistent in their past relationship.

“Rich, you okay?” Eddie’s voice came through his thoughts like a knife through butter. He had missed the smooth flow of his voice in his ears. He had missed Eddie. “I didn’t mean to scare you, you-you just asked and my therapist tells me I should let people know how I’m feeling and—” Eddie’s words cut out when Richie reached down and intertwined his free hand in his. They continued to walk in silence until they reached the theatre. Richie knew that today was just a fluke and when they parted ways this afternoon, Eddie would be gone again. Maybe they would meet in another 9 years, having another conversation about what could have been before parting ways again. Maybe the cycle would continue for the rest of their lives.

“I won’t lie, Richie, I’m not happy with you, but I’m also not mad. I know you did what you thought was right but, fuck, dude. It hurts to know that you didn’t do it with me,” Eddie had released his hand from Richie’s as Richie paid for their tickets at the kiosk. Who would have thought that the first movie they’d watch together again after all these years would be a fucking animated Adam Sandler movie for kids.

“Fuck is a bad word! Dad, he said a bad word!” James exclaimed, pointing at finger at Eddie and looking to Richie to validate his tattling. It was the first time he had spoken their entire walk, and Eddie must have forgotten he was there because he jumped a bit when the small boy spoke.

“James.” Richie used his Dad Voice on his son.

“Sorry, dad,” James looked down and said through pouted lips.

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to Eddie Spaghetti here. We can’t let him think that I let you become a trashmouth like me,” Richie said, giving a smirk to Eddie.

“Sorry, Mr. Spaghetti,” James said, still pouting.

Richie started to chuckle silently at James’ formal use of Eddie’s pet name.

Eddie gave the boy a small smile and said, “It’s okay, little dude, I shouldn’t have said a bad word in the first place. Your dad is the one that taught me that word, though. I think we should blame him, what do you say?” Eddie reached out and held up a hand for James who high-fived him which exclaiming, “Yeah! Daddy’s fault!” Eddie smirked cunningly up at Richie who was feigning annoyance even though he thought the entire interaction was hilarious.

He leaned over to whisper in Eddie’s ear, “I think I remember teaching you more than one way to say that bad word.” Eddie’s face blushed and Richie smiled innocently as he took James’ hand and began to pull him towards their theatre. He could tell Eddie was flustered by the way he hesitated before following behind the two.

After getting popcorn and drinks for the three of them they found their way to their seats and sat down to watch the previews before the film. The good thing about it being the middle of the day was that the theatre was relatively empty, aside from a few other parents who had the same thinking as Richie. It meant that if James wanted to fidget, he was free to do so. Being Richie’s kid meant that he inherited his ADHD, and inheriting his ADHD meant that the kid just could not sit still unless he was engrossed in what he was doing. Richie only hoped that the film would catch his attention to avoid the fidgeting.

Most of the movie went by without much of a problem, James only needing to move around once or twice before he finally got back into it, but Richie could tell that Eddie was — anxious? uncomfortable? — He couldn’t tell exactly, being that it was dark, and he couldn’t see Eddie’s face. His confusion at the tension finally made sense when Eddie tentatively reached out and placed a hand low on Richie’s thigh, maybe only 4 inches from his knee. Richie didn’t even hesitate before placing his hand on top of Eddie’s and intertwined their fingers. James must’ve noticed the interaction because he suddenly felt another tiny hand on his opposite leg. It was much more delicate and tapping his leg slightly. Richie smiled as he looked down to his son who was fully engrossed in the movie, legs swinging happily under his seat. He then looked to Eddie, who was also ‘watching’ the movie, though he knew that he wasn’t actually paying attention. Eddie smiled a little at the screen, but Richie knew the smile was for him. Richie was content. He was content for the first time in 9 years. The two spent the rest of the day leading James around to various places where he could play, eat, and just generally make the day good for him. But the day had to end sometime, and Richie knew it was soon. It was getting dark and they were stood outside a children’s park in Central Park.

“Eddie, I—” Richie started, but was cut off by Eddie.

“Rich, I don’t want this to be over again. I don’t want to go another 9 years without so much as hearing your voice. I can’t do it. Today brought something back in me, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time, Richie,” Eddie said earnestly. “We’re not kids anymore, you have a _fucking_ kid now,” he whispered the curse, “I want to get to know adult Richie. The responsible one.”

“Well, Eds, that’s impossible because I am still a child, I just also have a child now. It’s a weird dynamic, we’re always trying to out-kid the other. Super disheartening when it comes to disciplining. Last week he told ME to go to bed.”

“Richie stop deflecting.”

“Sorry. You just, you know how I am, Spaghetti. I’m sorry, uh, yeah, I would also like for this to not be the last time I see you, man. I could get your number, maybe?” Richie felt like a teenager asking his crush for Eddie’s phone number. Did people still do that at 37? He had no idea how dating worked now.

Eddie motioned for Richie to give him his phone. He obliged and unlocked it before giving it to Eddie who put in his information and then gave it back to the other man. “There. Just text me when you put him to bed,” Eddie said.

“Oh, Eddie Spaghetti wants to stay up after bedtime with me, huh?” Richie smirked and Eddie’s face flushed.

“No, dickwad, I just don’t want you trying to text me and wrangle your kid at the same time,” Eddie said flatly, but there was a hint of amusement behind his voice.

There was a small, awkward pause as neither quite knew how to say goodbye. So, Richie extended both arms at Eddie, who quickly took his offer for a hug. They stood tangled together for only a minute, but it felt like an eternity to Richie. To be back in Eddie’s arms was something he never thought he’d get to experience, so he cherished every second. That was, until he felt tiny hands pulling on his shirttail. He pulled away from the hug and looked down at his son, who was staring up at him.

James pointed at Eddie, “My turn?” He questioned. Richie looked over to Eddie, who was looking back at him. Richie shook his head at him.

“Yeah, little man, I’m sure Eddie would love a hug from the world’s best hugger,” Richie said, motioning his son over to Eddie.

Eddie squatted down to James’ level and extended his arms, which the small boy filled. Richie must have had a heart attack in that moment because his heart hitched so high in his throat that he thought it was going to come out of his mouth. He’d never felt like this before. He’d never felt so much love towards any two people. As they broke apart Richie smiled at Eddie and said, “See you around, Eds.”

“See ya, Rich,” Eddie said as Richie took his son’s hand and started to walk toward their apartment.

James turned over his shoulder as they were walking and exclaimed, “Bye, Mr. Spaghetti!” Richie let out a small laugh and tugged the small boy along.

After getting James into bed, Richie stood in his kitchen, phone in hand ready to text Eddie, he’d been thinking all evening about what to say to him.

**R:** how’s it hanging mr spaghetti

Eddie texted back almost immediately.

**E:** I can’t believe you would let him call me that. That’s what he’s going to think my name is now, he’s going to tell kids he knows a man named Spaghetti and it’s all your fault.

**R:** sitting by the phone are we? chillax man ill tell him your real name next time. however i do think spaghetti is a pretty cute pet name. maybe you should let him keep it

**E:** Shut the fuck up, asshole, I happened to have my phone in my hand, has nothing to do with you. I’ll think about it the name. Does that mean you want to meet up again?

**R:** i wouldn’t have texted you if I didn’t idiot. i want you to get to know him. hes got his own little personality man. its so rad to watch him grow up and become his own little person

**E:** Yeah, Rich, he seems like a cool little dude.

**R:** im sorry eddie

**E:** I know, Rich. Get some sleep, I’ll text you in the morning.

**R:** night spaghetti

**E:** Goodnight, Trashmouth.


	2. If You Believe it Does

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie spends all day getting ready to have dinner with Eddie, finally reuniting with the man he's loved for almost 20 years.
> 
> This chapter contains mature content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ:  
> Sorry this chapter is LONG there was just a lot to say. 
> 
> This chapter also contains mature material! If that's not your thing, I'm sorry, but they're both adults and its incredibly natural for adults to do adult things. rating and tags updated accordingly.
> 
> There's also quite a bit of texting in this chapter as it's just natural that they would text when they're apart.
> 
> ALSO:
> 
> CW: talk of parental abuse.

* * *

**E, 7:04AM:** So, have you trained your kid to wake up at noon or do you finally have a big boy sleep schedule?

**R, 7:10AM:** good morning to you, too, mr spaghetti

**E:** So, you have a big boy schedule, I see.

**R:** i get up at the ass of dawn every morning because my son refuses to sleep past the roosters crow

**E:** We’re in New York, where the fuck did you find a rooster?

**R:** figure if speech eds stop being an asshole

**E:** If what, Rich?

**R:** shut the fuck up i dont have timemfor this

**E:** timemfor

**R:** oohhhh eddie spaghetti gets off a good one

**E:** Beep beep, Richie.

**R:** ok yeah whatever man you busy today?

**E:** I work until 5pm, but I’m free after. Why? Did you want to get together?

**R:** its a bye-week for the show so i dont have anything to do i was thinking maybe youd want to come over and we could have dinner? i cant go out because i would have to get a babysitter and that would be impossible with this little notice but i want to see you again eds

**E:** Yeah sure, dude, I’m down for dinner, send me your address and I’ll be there by 6.

**R:** coolio. cant wait

**E:** Actually, you know what? Suddenly I have other plans. With grown men who don’t say the word, “Coolio.”

**R:** understandable. see you tonight eds

**E:** See you tonight, Rich.

Richie sighed. It was going to be a long day. He dropped James off at his school and set out to complete today’s tasks. He looked over his to-do list written in his chicken scratch:

  1. get groceries
  2. clean apartment (get bleach!!)
  3. do laundry
  4. get eddie to love me back



_Seems easy enough,_ he thought.

Around 3pm he looked at his to-do list, crossing off the third task. Just in time to pick up James from school. If Richie was going to have Eddie over, he’d at least make everything, including his son, presentable.

Richie pulled up to James’ school and saw him waiting outside waiting with the rest of the class, he had a piece of construction paper in his hand. As soon as he parked and got out of the car the boy ran to him, arms outstretched. Richie leaned down and they collided.

“Hi Dad! Guess what we did today!” James pulled away and Richie stood up to lead them to the car, “What’d you do today, buddy?”

“Well, we had arts and they said we could draw _anything._ So, I drew Mr. Spaghetti!” he shoved the paper up at Richie.

“You’ll have to show it to him tonight, buddy,” Richie said as he opened the car door to lift his son into his seat.

“He’s coming over?” James questioned.

“Yeah, man, Eds is gonna eat dinner with us. Then we might watch a movie, does that sound okay to you?” Richie questioned as he got back into the driver’s seat and started off back home.

“Yeah! I love Mr. Spaghetti!” James said excitedly, swinging his feet into the back of the passenger seat of Richie’s car.

Richie smiled, “Yeah, me too, little man.”

They got back to their apartment and James ran straight for his room. “Where are you going?” Richie called after him.

“I wanna get dressed for Mr. Spaghetti!” James yelled back as his tiny feet pattered on the hard wood floor of the apartment’s hallway. Richie didn’t live lavishly; he was never into showing off. His apartment was quaint, for NYC’s standards, that is. A 2-bedroom in Midtown with dark wood cabinets and marble countertops in the kitchen, wood flooring throughout, and minimalistic white walls that Richie had filled with movie posters, family photos, and stand-up posters from the days before SNL. It was a good size for the two of them, which made it perfect in Richie’s eyes.

Richie met up with his son in his room. James’ room was the one disorganized mess in their entire home. Sure, the place got a little messy sometimes, but this room was… a disaster, to say the least. Toys thrown about, Legos all over the floor, the bunk bed Richie had gotten him had not been made since they first brought it to the apartment. But, even if it was a mess, it was his son’s mess, and he enjoyed how happy it made him. Richie thought back to the days of his childhood. His dad’s belt across his back after he had to tell him for a second time to clean his bedroom, his mother’s slurred words coming from his doorframe yelling, begging him, to just do what his father told him. How small it had all made Richie feel, like he wasn’t anything more than a tax break to his parents. He remembered sneaking out after his dad had finally tired of beating him and staggered off to bed, sneaking to Eddie’s. Tapping lightly on the windows until Eddie opened it to let him in. How he would sit on the edge of Eddie’s bed while the smaller boy cleaned his still bloody wounds. How Eddie had laid with him as he cried until they both fell asleep. Eddie was the only one there for him through everything. Sure, he had the other Losers too, but he could never tell them of the things his father did to him. He didn’t think he could have spoken the words into existence, even if he wanted to. That was the best thing about Eddie, he never asked questions. If Richie showed up at his window, he just knew that silence was the best answer. Eddie knew better than anyone else that sometimes what he did was more important that what he could have said. He never should have let Eddie go.

Richie started to cry softly standing in the frame of his son’s door. James must have noticed his crying because, without word, he walked out of his closet and over to Richie, wrapping his arms around his thighs in a hug. Richie smiled and looked down at his son, who was looking up at him with a smile and the biggest blue eyes he had ever seen.

“Don’t be sad, daddy! I’ll pick good clothes this time!” James said. Richie chuckled and lifted up the small boy by his armpits, planting a kiss on his cheek before setting him back down, “I’m sure you will buddy, but can daddy help this time?”

“No! I can do it myself!” James exclaimed and wrapped his arms across his body, mimicking what Richie does when he gets angry.

Richie laughed, “Okay, but if Eddie doesn’t like it, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Mr. Spaghetti is going to love it!” James yelled as Richie started to walk back to the kitchen.

Once back, he picked up the piece of art James had made for Eddie and looked at it properly. His son was no artist, that was for sure. His drawing depicted Eddie as a spaghetti noodle with a suit on, holding hands with Richie, who was holding hands with James. The writing underneath read, “Mr. Spagedi and me and dad at the prak.” Richie set down the photo and smiled, his love of Eddie must have been biological because James couldn’t seem to get enough of him. Richie’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

**E, 5:03PM:** I left early, mind if I come by now?

**R:** only if theres something in it for me, eddie spaghetti ;)

**E:** You are insufferable.

**R:** maybe. but i know you love it spaghedward

**E:** Never call me that again. Either of those. My name is Eddie, that’s it.

**R:** oh eddie my love what would i do without your constant nagging

**E** : I honestly don’t know how you made it this long without having someone kill you, Rich. Can I come over or not?

**R:** i was hoping you would be the one to finally off me

**R** : of course you can come over edward

**E:** See you in 30, Richie.

**R:** yep

Suddenly, Richie was nervous. Very, very nervous. Eddie would be at his house in less than half an hour. _Shit,_ he didn’t even have dinner started. He frantically started moving around the kitchen at almost lightning speed gathering everything necessary for the meal. He figured they could have pasta. It was something he knew James would eat and Eddie would still appreciate. He put the water on to boil and started working on the sauce. He figured a white sauce would be better than red sauce, opting for white meat instead of red.

Dinner was pretty quick, only took about 20 minutes to finish so he stuck all of the components in the warmed oven to stay hot and all but sprinted down the hallway to his bedroom to change. Nothing too fancy, he didn’t want Eddie to think he was trying too hard, so he went with a classic Richard Tozier Hawaiian with a graphic tee and dark wash jeans. He did a quick once over in the mirror and deemed himself fine, hastily putting on some cologne he never wore and going to check on his son.

He walked down the hall into James’ room and found him sitting in the middle of his floor playing with the Legos that were strewn about. He actually hadn’t looked that bad. He must’ve dug around a little in his closet because he was wearing a shirt that Richie had bought him but never even bothered taking the tags off of. It was a blue button down that he had not yet buttoned, he still couldn’t do it himself, and the jeans he had worn to school. Richie was impressed that his son had managed to not only dress himself but dress himself well. On a second thought, maybe he wasn’t Richie’s.

“Hey, dude. You need help with that shirt?” Richie questioned as he walked toward his son.

James looked up from his toys when he heard Richie and quickly stood up smiling, “Yes, please. I can’t do it all by myself.” He stood as still as he could, which, frankly, wasn’t still at all, to let Richie button up his shirt and pull off the tag.

“There, all better. You look good, little man! Did you have someone come in here while I was in the kitchen and pick out your outfit?” Richie picked fun at his son.

“No, dad!” James said, laughing, “I did it by myself!”

“Oh man, that’s totally rad! I’m proud of you, buddy,” Richie said as he extended a hand out for a high-five. As James reciprocated the high-five, he heard the doorbell ring. “I think Eds is here, you wanna go greet him?”

“Yeah yeah yeah!” James ran out to the living room excitedly. Richie followed, nervous for what was about to take place.

Richie swung the door open and greeted a shocked Eddie with a smile. “Hey! Look at you Eds, all dolled up from work,” he said as he moved to the side to let him in.

“Yeah, I’m sure I look just stunning right now,” Eddie said flatly as he moved inside.

“You okay, eds? You seem a little pissy,” Richie said back. Eddie shot him a glance.

“Yeah, dude, I’m fine just a rough day,” Eddie replied.

“Mr. Spaghetti!” James came running at Eddie and before he could react, wrapped his legs into a hug. “I made you something at school today! Do you wanna see? Daddy where is my pit-chur?” He questioned.

“It’s in the kitchen—” Before Richie could continue his sentence James was sprinting to the kitchen.

“He’s never going to drop the name, is he?” Eddie looked at Richie, feigning annoyance, but Richie knew he thought it was funny.

“Oh, just wait until he shows you his drawing,” Richie said with a cunning grin. James ran back to where they stood in the foyer and handed Eddie the drawing.

“It’s me and you and dad! From yesterday! Do you like it, Mr. Spaghetti?” James was looking to Eddie with his big excited eyes, hoping that the man liked it.

Eddie laughed at the absurdity of it, “I love it, little guy! But do you really think I look like a noodle?”

“Well, your name is Spaghetti, so I made you it.”

“Good enough reasoning for me,” he turned to Richie, “is dinner ready? I haven’t eaten today.”

“Well sure enough, Eds, dinner IS ready. Made by yours truly,” Richie pointed his thumbs at himself with a grin on his face.

Eddie scoffed, “Should we just order the pizza now then?”

Richie put his hands over his heart, “Oh Eddie, you wound me.”

“You wound me.” They both looked down at James, who was imitating Richie.

“It’s cuter when he does it,” Eddie said through a smile.

Richie rolled his eyes, “Yeah yeah yeah, you hungry or not?”

“Lead me to the food, Trashmouth,” Eddie said, and they made their way to the kitchen.

Richie pulled the components of the meal out of the oven and put them onto the table, having all three of them sit down to eat. Richie and Eddie sat across from one another while James’ was at the head of the table in a booster seat. Before he could take his first bite Richie quickly got up and pulled James’ shirt over his head, “I’m not ruining a perfectly good shirt over some pasta,” he said as he flung it onto the kitchen island.

Eddie chuckled, “Never would I have thought that you would care about clothes stains. Your clothes always looked so nasty, dude.”

“Yeah, well, suddenly when you have to buy a whole new wardrobe 3 times a year because your kid grows like a tree, you start caring about every article of clothing.”

“He IS your son, Rich. I would expect nothing less from him. You were like five-three by the 5th grade, man.”

“Shut up and eat your dinner, fucknut.”

Eddie nudged Richie’s leg with his foot, “Language?”

“Whatever, I’m not in the mood right now and he didn’t even seem to notice anyway.” They both turned to look at the boy who was in the process of shoving a noodle in his belly button.

“Hey hey hey! Dude! What are you doing?” Richie was using his dad voice again.

James turned to look at Richie and shrugged before taking the noodle out of his belly button and putting it in his mouth.

“Oh god, that’s disgusting,” Eddie said as he turned away from James, a sickly pale complexion coming over him.

Richie laughed, “Can’t handle a little pasta night, Eddie Spaghetti?” he turned back to his son, “Come on dude, stop. You’re making Eds here a little queasy.”

James looked upset and apologized, “Sorry, Mr. Spaghetti.”

“It’s okay, buddy,” Eddie said looking directly at his plate, still pale in the face.

“Hey,” Richie reached out to take the mess of a plate from James and wipe him down with a napkin, “Why don’t Eds and I get all this cleaned up and you go put on some pj’s then we can watch a movie. That sound good?”

“Yeah, dad, that sounds good,” James said, still clearly upset. He pushed his chair out from the dining table and trailed off to his room.

“Movie?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah, Eds, you didn’t think I’d let you over here for dinner and _not_ have a movie, did you?”

“Honestly, I didn’t have any expectations when I came over here. No expectations mean I can’t let you let me down.”

Richie felt a small hitch in his throat, “Beep beep, dude.”

Richie looked down at his plate, moving the remaining food from side to side, trying not to look at Eddie, he didn’t want to show him that he was hurt. It was something that was stupid to be hurt over, he knew that, but he still worked hard to make sure that Eddie would enjoy himself and now it just felt like it was all a big joke to him.

“Richie…”

“Let’s, uh, let’s get this cleaned up before he comes back ready for the movie.” Richie pushed away from the table, grabbing plates as he walked into the kitchen. He was loading the dishwasher when he heard Eddie come up behind him. He set an empty bowl, that once held garlic bread, down on the table and placed a hand on Richie’s shoulder. Richie stiffened at the touch.

“I’m sorry, I was just messing around, dude.”

“Is this a game for you? Some sadistic game of ‘Let’s Toy with Richie’s Feelings’ that you’re playing, Eddie?”

“Rich,” Eddie tugged at Richie’s arm, “Rich look at me.”

Richie turned to look at Eddie, eyes red around the rim as if he was holding back everything he had left, “What?” he said softly, pain evident in his voice, “What could you possibly say right now, Eddie? I worked my ass off all day to make sure that you didn’t walk into a mess—”

“Rich—”

“Stop. I’m not done. I cleaned this place from top to fucking bottom, Eddie, because I know you hate when things are dirty. I made you dinner with chicken instead of some other red meat, because I know you don’t like how the other stuff makes your stomach feel. I let you in my apartment, let you meet my son, Eddie. I don’t let many people around him because I’m so terrified that one day someone will think I’m not fit and take him away from me. But I trusted you with meeting him. Just… could you not assume I’m some asshole who’s going to deliberately try to hurt you? And before you say it, I know my past actions would indicate that I am that asshole. But it’s been 10 years, I’m not who I used to be.” Richie stared at Eddie who had a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face. That look quickly changed to a look of confusion and concern.

“Richie, I don’t doubt that you’ve grown up, I can see it by the way you interact with James, but you can’t blame me for being wary. I don’t know this version of you. I don’t know 37-year-old Richie. I know 28-year-old Richie. The Richie that was afraid of commitment. The Richie that didn’t want anything to do with starting a family. It was a shitty joke, I’ll admit it, but dude you can’t blame me for reacting on instinct.”

Richie stood stunned at his words.

“Plus,” Eddie started again, “If I really didn’t think you were going to show me a good time tonight, I wouldn’t have agreed to come over. Now, let’s clean this shit up and go watch a movie, asshole.”

Richie smiled and once again started loading the dishwasher. They did this for a few minutes, until Richie had bent over to put a piece of silverware on the bottom shelf and Eddie moved around him, placing a hand on his hip and pushing his groin against Richie’s ever so slightly as he moved to the other side of the kitchen. Richie turned his head to look up at Eddie whose cheeks were bright red. He had a smile across his face as they made quick eye contact before Eddie broke it again to look anywhere else in the room.

Richie stood back up, pushing the dishwasher door closed and turning it on, “I’m going to go check on James, you want to come with me? I’ll warn you in advance, I don’t make him clean his room.”

Eddie nodded and Richie slipped around him, splaying his hand on the small of Eddie’s back as he pushed him towards the boy’s room. Richie had forgotten just how petite Eddie was, how small he felt under his hands. He smiled from behind Eddie as they reached the threshold of James’ bedroom. Just as he was about to ask why his son was being so quiet, Eddie reached up and tapped the back of his hand to Richie’s chest. It was then that he noticed that James was completely passed out in nothing but his pajama pants, clearly not having made it to putting on a shirt, on his floor next to his stuffed bear Richie had gotten him the week he arrived on his doorstep.

Richie smiled and moved past Eddie to pick up his son and put him in bed, tucking him and his bear under the covers before turning off the light to his room and closing the door, leaving a small crack open.

“He does it a lot. Sometimes he’ll not realize how tired he is until he sits down and then he just falls asleep almost on the spot. He’s done it since he was a baby,” Richie explained.

“Somehow, I’m not surprised. You used to do the same thing so I can see why he does it.”

There was a slight pause. Richie piped up first, “So, you still up for that movie?” He bumped his shoulder to Eddie’s.

“Always. But I get to pick. I know you’ve got, like, a million DVD’s so I’m picking what I want to watch.” Eddie scurried back to the living room before he could protest.

When Richie reached the living room Eddie was scouring through the shelves to find something he liked. After a few minutes he stopped and turned to look at Richie, who was now seated on the couch, “For a cinephile you have shit taste in movies, dude.”

“I like what I like, Eds, what can you do? Are you ever going to pick something or am I going to sit here for another 9 years waiting?”

“Beep beep, Richie.”

“Right, sorry.”

“I think I found one,” Eddie excitedly brought the case up to show Richie.

“You did all that searching… and you went with For Love of the Game?” Richie questioned.

“It’s a good movie! If you don’t like it why do you even have it?” Eddie got up to find the dvd player and put the disk in.

Richie shrugged, “I went through a Kevin Costner phase in the 2000s like every other gay. I’m over it now.”

“Well, I hope you’re ready to get into it again, because I’m not picking another one,” Eddie said. He walked over to the couch and hesitated, hovering beside it like he had to be asked to sit down.

“You can sit down, Eds, I won’t bite,” Richie said, patting the cushion next to him.

Eddie paused for a few seconds more before taking the seat next to Richie. The couch was small, but fit into the room nicely, as it wasn’t necessarily the biggest living area in New York. Richie took the remote and flicked on the TV, turning it on to the proper channel than taking the DVD player’s remote and hitting play. He sat back in the couch getting as comfortable as he could. Eddie was sitting so close that he could feel the heat of their thighs on the verge of touching. All Richie had to do was shift slightly to his left and… he was touching Eddie. It was just their thighs, but it set every nerve in his body alight, like the city coming back to life after a power outage. Suddenly Richie wasn’t paying attention to the movie. He couldn’t care less about what agonizing romantic situation Kevin Costner had gotten himself into, all he could think about was touching Eddie. Touching every corner of his body, caressing his hands under his shirt, down his back. Richie _needed_ to touch him. He began to sweat, at the thought of inciting more closeness. He took a silent, deep breath and reached out, as if he was stretching, to put his arm over Eddie’s shoulders. He could feel the others man’s shoulders shake in a small laugh.

“You’re 37 years old, Rich, you don’t have to pull that move to get closer to me,” Eddie said, eyes glued to the TV. Richie smiled and Eddie shifted so that he could lay his head in Richie’s laugh, which caused Richie’s breath to hitch.

“Here, let me—” he reached to the other end of the couch and grabbed one of the throw pillows to put on his lap. It was more comfortable for Eddie and more… protective… for him. The closeness of the two caused all of the blood in Richie’s body to pool in exactly the place he didn’t want it to. Not yet, at least. Not while everything was still so new—Richie felt a hand on his thigh by Eddie’s head. He knew he was just making himself more comfortable, but it was making Richie more uncomfortable. He shifted slightly, _maybe I shouldn’t have worn such tight jeans. Why the fuck are they in style._

“You okay? I can sit back up if I’m bothering you,” Eddie started to sit up hen Richie grabbed his shoulder and lead him to lay his head back down.

“No, you’re fine. You’re good. My ass just got tired I had to shift around a little,” Richie seemed to play it off because Eddie laid back down and went back to watching the movie, he started to rub small circles into Richie’s thigh with his thumb. _This is fucking agony._ _Focus on the movie. Focus on the fucking movie, Rich._ For the next 20 minutes, he was trying to focus on what was happening on screen. At this point, though he was basically just focused on focusing, but it wasn’t helping. _Eddie, Eddie, Eddie,_ he just kept thinking. _Eddie, I want you so bad. Please touch me, Eds, please._

“Rich, something’s going on,” Eddie looked up from Richie’s lap and they locked eyes, “Just tell me wha—”

That was it. That small look was the last straw. Richie swiftly leaned down to touch his lips to Eddie’s without a second thought. He paused before lifting away slightly to look at Eddie, to look if it was okay. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, Eddie wrapped a hand around Richie’s neck and pulled him back down into another kiss. Deeper this time. Much less reservation. Richie took that as an invitation and slipped his tongue along Eddie’s lower lip which caused the other man to shudder. 

Eddie leaned back to catch his breath, “This angle sucks.” He sat back upright and threw a leg around Richie’s hip so that he was straddling his thighs. Richie threw the pillow that was on his lap across the room and caressed his hands up Eddie’s hips to his shoulders, forcing him down onto his lap. Eddie let out a breathless sigh and locked his lips to Richie’s again, slightly grinding his hips into Richie’s lap. Richie threw his head back and Eddie took that as a chance to nip at his neck, sucking small bruises into where it met his collarbone.

“C-Careful… I’ve got…” he took a breath, “I’ve got to be on live TV in a week,” Richie said.

“Mmm,” was all he got in reply.

Richie grabbed Eddie’s chin and pulled him back up to meet his eyes. They put their foreheads together and sat staring at each other for a few seconds before Richie bucked up into Eddie, causing a quiet groan to come from Eddie’s lips. The sound brought Richie back 9 years, to when he and Eddie would make love like rabbits, anywhere and everywhere. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other if they tried and, god, was it hot.

Richie reached down and slipped his hands under Eddie’s shirt, rubbing up and down his back while his mouth worked the other man’s lips raw.

“Richie,” Eddie had pulled back and was right next to Richie’s ear, so close that he could feel Eddie’s hot breath cover the entirety of it, “I want you. Right now,” to emphasize his point he grinded down onto Richie’s lap. Richie inhaled sharply, without worded standing both of them up, Eddie still clung around him, and moving them to his bedroom. Once there, he threw Eddie onto the bed, crawling over top of him so that his entire body entrapped him to the bed.

Eddie reached up to run his hands down Richie’s torso, reaching his shirt hem and pulling up at it to get it off his body. He sat up and pulled the shirt off, tugging at Eddie to do the same. Once both men were bare chested Richie looked Eddie up and down, “Fuck, you’re still so hot, Eds. Maybe even hotter. I want you so much. I’ve wanted you every day for the last 9 years.”

“Richie, I have never stopped wanting you, even when I was angry after we separated, I only wanted you more. I would, fuck,” he pulled Richie back down on top of him, “I would force myself to not think about you when I was touching myself. I wanted to get over you, but you were the only thing on my mind. How your big hands felt when they gripped me from behind, how it felt to have you completely inside me. Richie, I need you.”

Richie shift in between Eddie’s legs and grinded down on him. A whine came from Eddie, “Rich get those stupid fucking jeans off, I want to feel you.” Richie didn’t need any more incentive to lean up onto his knees and grab at his belt, trying to take if off too fast and fumbling with the buckle.

“Here, let me—” Eddie said as he pulled at the belt, getting it unbuckled and off in one swift motion. He then popped the button of Richie’s jeans and unzipped his pants, dipping his hand down between his jeans and his boxers. Richie let out a loud groan and tilted his head back. He fell back forward on to his hands and knees and locked his lips to Eddie’s again as Eddie ran his hand up and down Richie’s shaft, still palming him over his underwear.

There was a small knock at Richie’s bedroom door and they both froze in their tracks. A sharp pain of anxiety shot through Richie’s chest.

“Dad?” another knock, “Daddy?”

“Ye—” Richie cleared his throat, “Yeah, buddy?”

“Can I come in? I saw something in my room, and I got scared.” James said from outside the door.

“Uh…” Richie looked at Eddie, fear of being caught evident in his eyes, “Uh, no, not right now… Dad is cleaning…his…bathroom. Give me a minute, I’ll come check your room for monsters.”

Richie sighed and lowered his head to Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie started laughing quietly. “What’s so funny?” Richie whispered.

“Cleaning your bathroom at 10pm, Rich? That’s what you could come up with?” Eddie whispered back with a smile plastered across his face.

“He’s 6, he has no concept of the appropriate time to clean a bathroom.” Richie pushed off of the bed, but not before slyly running his hands down the length of Eddie’s torso and palming his erection, “Don’t think this is over. I’m coming back here after I check for his monsters, and checking for yours,” Richie said with a shit eating grin.

“What does that even mean?” Eddie questioned.

Richie just smiled again and winked at him before buttoning his pants and grabbing his shirt from where it had been discarded on the floor. He opened the door to his bedroom only enough to slip out, closing it again behind him and picking his son up from where he stood in the hall, “Let’s go check for monsters, yeah?”

James just shook his head and laid it on Richie’s shoulder as he carried the boy back down to his bedroom. He laid him in his bed and began searching the room top to bottom. From the closet to under the bed to the top bunk. Everywhere he thought there could be a monster in his son’s eyes, he scoured.

“See, little man, nothing to be worried about!” He walked back over to where his son was dozing off again and grabbed his teddy bear to stick beside him, “This teddy kills monsters, if you believe it does.”

“If I believe it does?” James asked with heavy eyes.

“If you believe it does,” Richie said once more, “Now go back to sleep, I’ll see you in the morning. I love you.” Richie kissed his son’s forehead and walked out of the room, shutting the light off on the way. He hastily made his way back to his bedroom, ready to get back to where he and Eddie had left off, but when he opened the door, he saw Eddie laying on his side, peacefully sleeping. _No need to rush I guess,_ he thought, and he smiled as he took his jeans off and slipped in the bed behind Eddie, who pushed back into him to get closer.

“Mm sorr… Rich,” Eddie said sleepily.

“Shh, it’s okay, we have all the time in the world, it’ll be okay.” He reached his hand across Eddie’s middle and intertwined their fingers where Eddie’s laid, curled up against his chest.

Richie drifted to sleep, feeling better than he had in almost a decade, ecstatic to see what tomorrow would hold with Eddie by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to update more often from here, but I'm going on spring break next week so it will probably be pretty regular starting after that considering my university is shutting down for the coronavirus. Stay safe everyone, wash your hands, and if you feel sick, go to the doctor!!


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